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I lived at home and worked as many as 7 part-time jobs to pay my own way through college and did not take out any loans. I lived with my parents and thanked them for the free room and board. Some merit-based scholarships also helped with portions of the tuition. I thanked the individuals who funded the scholsrships. This was in the US.

Next I went to graduate school on a full scholarship with a paid assistantship helping a professor which covered my living expenses. This was available to any graduate applicant as the school was in Canada where public funding was good. I did not thank amyone for that. I am a dual citizen and have also been to England, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany and the Bahamas. Travel was interesting but only enlightening in Canada where I immersed myself in the culture. I was not in debt and did not go into debt for any of these trips.

Subsequently I went back to school in the US for another degree which I funded primarily myself but with some tuition reimbursement from a job. I thanked my employer (the CEO).

Trump won due to the resentment of voters, which he tapped into. Calling them ignorant is not helpful. I am not one of them, but I understand where they are coming from. They voted against their economic self- interest (especially those on expanded Medicaid) for cultural reasons and out of anti-elitism.

My work is non-salaried office employment and I have friends both at and away from the job. This weekend a group of us are going to an island in the region, an affordable day trip, especially since one friend just finished an MBA and is on a budget, but all of us try to live within our means.

Travel, gardening, hiking, reading, and table games are all hobbies I enjoy.

I lived at home and worked as many as 7 part-time jobs to pay my own way through college and did not take out any loans. I lived with my parents and thanked them for the free room and board. Some merit-based scholarships also helped with portions of the tuition. I thanked the individuals who funded the scholsrships. This was in the US.

When was this?

My parents kicked me out of the house when I was 17 and still a junior in high school. So living at home and going to school was not an option. I am glad you were able to do it though, I am sure it lightened your responsibility load considerably.

Originally Posted by Yppej

Next I went to graduate school on a full scholarship with a paid assistantship helping a professor which covered my living expenses. This was available to any graduate applicant as the school was in Canada where public funding was good. I did not thank amyone for that. I am a dual citizen and have also been to England, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany and the Bahamas. Travel was interesting but only enlightening in Canada where I immersed myself in the culture. I was not in debt and did not go into debt for any of these trips.

"Public funding was good." Hmmm... those taxpayers really helped you. Being a dual citizen must have been really nice! Not having to worry about healthcare in graduate school must have been especially nice. Good on you for being able to enjoy these privileges.

Originally Posted by Yppej

Subsequently I went back to school in the US for another degree which I funded primarily myself but with some tuition reimbursement from a job. I thanked my employer (the CEO).

Did you thank your employer for your salary too? It is important to grovel.

Originally Posted by Yppej

Trump won due to the resentment of voters, which he tapped into. Calling them ignorant is not helpful. I am not one of them, but I understand where they are coming from. They voted against their economic self- interest (especially those on expanded Medicaid) for cultural reasons and out of anti-elitism.

Again, you need to ease up in this. I encourage you to reexamine your irrational beliefs.

Originally Posted by Yppej

My work is non-salaried office employment and I have friends both at and away from the job. This weekend a group of us are going to an island in the region, an affordable day trip, especially since one friend just finished an MBA and is on a budget, but all of us try to live within our means.

Excellent! We all need a good circle of friends.

Originally Posted by Yppej

Travel, gardening, hiking, reading, and table games are all hobbies I enjoy.

I brought back a few gifts for friends and colleagues. I purchased one cigar for a colleague of mine who is a cigar aficionado. Another colleague is a big drinker, so I got him a bottle of rum. An atheist friend of mine also likes rum so I got him a bottle too. And I got some Cuban coffee for another friend.

I gladly accepted grants as a part of my cobbled together way of paying for college. Iíve been poor, Iíve earned scholarships, Iíve accepted employer tuition reimbursement as well as gifts from my dad. But I also accepted grants. No different from ultralite accepting loan forgiveness - both govt funded. Just one is before classes are taken, and the other is after.

And I have not become a wealthy person who scorns those who accept help - I recognize that while I worked hard and paid as much as I could, thereís nothing wrong with grants and loan forgiveness either.

Sometimes people who pull themselves up from tough times, struggle to see others receive help. Itís that myth of rugged individualism that we Americans are so in love with. But it isnít true. Lots of people helped me get where I am today.

Yppej, are you working in the field you went to college for? I am guessing some of the resentment is coming from that. Interesting that Trump voters are the ones to suffer the most from his policies. I might even feel sorry for them except for the fact that people seeking asylum have their kids ripped away and put into cages like animals. This is one reason that I am done with the electoral college since Hillary won the popular vote. While I was going to college my mom watched my kids after school, non-school days, summer etc. She would cancel her plans when one of the kids was sick. You can bet I thanked her. I don’t resent anyone with student loans and am happy I never had any.

Trump won due to the resentment of voters, which he tapped into. Calling them ignorant is not helpful. I am not one of them, but I understand where they are coming from. They voted against their economic self- interest (especially those on expanded Medicaid) for cultural reasons and out of anti-elitism.

Also won because Dems stayed home, and they stayed home because economic policies under a Dem president Obama sucked (some people also disliked his other policies). People who lost their jobs then and didn't quickly find another from everything I have read (and I have a perverse habit about reading about unemployment now) lived through a depression. People won't say it, they'll call it a recession, because they are too remote to get it. When one would rather be 100% party loyal (and it was no single party's fault) than understand what REALLY happened after 2008. It's like if FDR had done almost nothing back in the Great Depression. He wouldn't have been a 4 term president anyway!

When I heard one plane trip uses the fossil fuel used in a year of driving it was maybe it for me. I still drive, yes unfortunately. But I could offset that carbon use, ha, maybe if I was vegan for the entire year before hand! These are social problems too and not just individual ones, oh I know, but just like I recycle even though it is increasingly futile ...

Last edited by ApatheticNoMore; 6-6-18 at 2:20pm.

If you want something to get done, ask a busy person. If you want them to have a nervous breakdown that is.

Loans shouldn't be necessary for most of one's education--education should be looked at as a country's prudent investment in its future, affordable and heavily subsidized. I don't begrudge anyone an education--the more educated our citizenry is, the better!

I brought back a few gifts for friends and colleagues. I purchased one cigar for a colleague of mine who is a cigar aficionado. Another colleague is a big drinker, so I got him a bottle of rum. An atheist friend of mine also likes rum so I got him a bottle too. And I got some Cuban coffee for another friend.

I did not have free healthcare in Canada. It is administered by the provinces and there was something like a 9 month waiting period to qualify as a resident and get it. This was in the 80's.

The difference between grants and loan forgiveness is grants only go to low income people. Loan forgiveness programs can benefit people whose compensation packages exceed the national median. So the effects can be a reverse Robin Hood, taking from the poor (like minimum wage workers) to give to those (like UL) who are better off than them.

The real solution is to make tuition affordable, not have the taxpayers indirectly subsidize via loan forgiveness a system with out of control spending and inflation. When you inject the government without tying subsidies to cost containment you make the problem worse.

I would also support equal benefits for everyone such as free community college for everyone.